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Urban Defense Mini Manual Spencer
Urban Defense Mini Manual Spencer
Urban Defender
By John Spencer
About the author
John Spencer is an award-winning scholar, professor, author,
combat veteran, and internationally recognized expert and
advisor on urban warfare and other military related topics.
Considered the world’s leading expert on urban warfare, he
served as an advisor to the top four-star general and other senior
leaders in the U.S. Army as part of strategic research groups
from the Pentagon to the United States Military Academy.
Spencer currently serves as the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies
with the Madison Policy Forum. He recently served as the Chair
of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West
Point, Co-Director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of
the Urban Warfare Project podcast. He also served as a Colonel
in the California State Guard with assignment to the 40th Infantry
Division, California Army National Guard as the Director of Urban
Warfare Training.
Serving over twenty-five years in the active Army as an infantry
soldier, Spencer has held ranks from Private to Sergeant First
Class and Second Lieutenant to Major. His assignments as an
Army officer included two urban-centric combat deployments to
Iraq as both an Infantry Platoon Leader and Company
Commander, a Ranger Instructor with the Army’s elite Ranger
School, a Joint Chief of Staff and Army Staff intern, fellow with
the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group, and Co-
Founder, Strategic Planner, and Deputy Director of the Modern
War Institute at West Point where he also taught everything from
military tactics to strategy.
He can be found on Twitter @SpencerGuard
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Table of Contents
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Spencer’s Standing Orders
(for the Urban Defender)
1. The defense is the strongest form of war. The attacker must come to you and you must be in
prepared positions. He must cross the open street to attack you. Kill him in the streets and alleyways.
2. Never stop preparing the defense. Even when you are fighting you should be continuing to
improve your positions.
3. Make the attacker go where you want, not where he wants. Build barriers as high as you can. Block
all streets, alleyways, doors, and windows. Turn the city into a fortress of walls that make the enemy
enter your prepared traps.
4. Use concrete. It is your greatest defensive resource. Do not use wood and sandbags, they are
weak. Concrete reinforced by steel bars (rebar) is one of the strongest materials. Build barriers and
fighting positions out of it.
5. Always hide yourself, your position, your weapons. Always believe the enemy can see you from
above. If he can see you, he can strike you with missiles, bombs, and mortars. If you are always
hiding, moving inside buildings, under tarps between buildings, the enemy will not be able to strike
you.
6. Use any and all underground facilities. If there are none beneath you, start digging. The attacker
will bomb you before assaulting. You can use the underground to hide, escape, protect yourselves,
store supplies, move, and counterattack.
7. Surprise is everything. The attacker cannot see through concrete. You decide when and where the
fighting will occur. The enemy fears urban snipers deeply. Make him think every window holds a
sniper.
8. Fight in groups. One fighter is not enough. Fight in a minimum of 3-5 person teams.
9. Always attack from a protected and hidden position. It does not matter if you are throwing
something or shooting something; do so from inside a building, from high or low floors, behind piles
of rubble, or popping up from the underground.
10. Always have an escape plan after attacking. Put holes in walls, floors, and ceilings so you can run
between rooms and buildings when the enemy bombs are falling, or if they are too close to you. Dig
tunnels under buildings and houses as escape venues. Make lots of different interlocking attack
positions. Pre-position supplies everywhere: ammo, grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, water, etc.
11. Do not get surprised. The enemy fears urban warfare. He will attempt to sneak past your
defenses. Never have more than 2/3s of your fighters asleep.
12. Drink water. You cannot fight if you are dead. You can survive only 3 days without water, but 3
weeks without food. Purify any water (boil it, add bleach or iodine). If your pee is clear nothing to fear;
yellow or brown you are going down.
13. Wash your hands before eating. Disease can kill you more than enemy bullets. When you eat and
drink ensure that your latrines are more than 100 meters away. Do not let flies touch your food.
14. You must follow the laws of war. You must wear markings to identify you as fighters. No matter
the enemy’s tactics, you must follow the laws of war to include handling of captured enemy fighters.
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8 Rules of Attacking a City
There are rules that restrain a military force attacking a city. A smart defender
plans to maximize and use each rule against the attacker. The rules are:
1. The urban defender has the advantage. It takes much more force to attack and
defeat an enemy that is in an established and properly constructed defense than one in
the open.
3. The defender can see and engage the attacker, because the attacker has
limited cover and concealment. The biggest tactical advantage for the defending
force is that it can remain hidden inside and under buildings.
4. Buildings serve as fortified bunkers that must be negotiated. Cities are full of
structures that are ideal for military defense purposes. Large government, office, or
industrial buildings are often made of thick, steel-reinforced concrete that make them
nearly impervious to many military weapons.
5. Attackers must use explosive force to penetrate buildings. The primary current
methods of attacking an urban fortification are to either destroy it or prepare the
building with explosive munitions and then send infantry in to enter and clear the entire
building if necessary.
6. The defender maintains relative freedom of maneuver within the urban terrain.
They can prepare the terrain to facilitate their movement to wherever the battle
requires. They can connect battle positions with routes through and under buildings.
They can construct obstacles to lure attackers unknowingly into elaborate ambushes
because of the limited main avenues of approach in many dense urban environments.
7. The underground serves as the defender’s refuge. Defenders can use existing
tunnels or dig their own to connect fighting positions, hide from detection, and provide
cover from aerial strikes, and even employ them offensively as tunnel bombs against a
stationary military forces.
8. Neither the attacker nor the defender can concentrate their forces against the
other. A defense established in dense urban terrain constrains both the rapid
movement and the ability to concentrate formations against decisive points.
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6 Main Elements of Any Defense
These six elements of the defense apply to any defense no
matter the scale or environment. In the urban defense the
defender must always think about how the urban terrain can
be shaped and used to allow defenders to do what they want
to do while stopping the enemy from doing what they want to
do. The six main elements are:
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General Information
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Gather Supplies
Very Important
1. Ammo(a lot)
Water! 2. Grenades (many)
3. Water
4. Ready-Food
5. Anti-Tank-Weapons
(Javelins)
Important
1. Anti-Aire raft
(Stingers)
2. Mines (Claymore)
3. Sniper Rifles
4. Rifles
5. Anti-Tank Mines
6. Fuel
7. Drones
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You have the Numbers & Advantage
Prepared urban defenders have the advantage. In 2016,
it took over 100,000 security forces 9 months to take
Mosul against 5,000 to 10,000 ISIS. The Germans
employed tens of thousands of soldiers to try and take
Stalingrad, and they were unsuccessful. Military doctrine
says the attacker needs 3 to 5 times more than he would
during an attack in wooden or open terrain. The enemy
could need as much as 5, if not more, attacking soldiers
to 1 defending soldier/fighter.
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The Urban Defender Uses Everything
Image credit: US Army ATTP 3-06.11 Combined Arms Operations in Urban Terrain
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Protection and Safety
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Phase I of an Enemy Attack
The first phase of the enemy to attack a city will be bombing
of any known enemy positions (buildings/places seen from
the sky or already known) to soften the defense of the city
and demoralize the defending force in the city. In this phase,
all efforts to hide known key locations and fighting positions
must be taken. Defenders must know where to escape the
bombings (strong buildings, underground) and where to
reemerge ready to fight: this is essential.
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Phase II of an Enemy Attack
The next phase, as the attacker gets closer to the city,
will begin heavy bombardment on all urban structures,
with hope that the defenders will surrender. This could
last days and weeks. This is where the underground is
critical to survive while maintaining weapons and
supplies. Defenders must stay aware of the enemy’s
location, when they are moving towards the city, getting
close.
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Phase III of an Enemy Attack
The next phase of the city attack will be indirect and direct
fires as the enemy military moves to the city’s boundary
lines, attempting to enter the urban environment. This is a
dangerous time because the defenders must be able to
attack the invaders but also survive their attacks. The
defenders can “hug” the attackers, allowing them to get so
close they can no longer use their artillery out of fear of
killing their own soldiers.
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Stay hidden at all times
You must stay hidden. If you can be seen, you can be
attacked by missiles, bombs, artillery, and mortars. Put
tarpaulins, sheets/blankets, wood, plastic, tin, anything
across the top of or between building so the things above
or down the street can’t see you. Hide everything.
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Use the Underground!
The underground has long served as a powerful urban
warfare tool. It allows defenders to escape bombs, hide
fighters, cache and protect supplies, to move unseen, and
to attack the invading enemy.
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Barriers, Barriers, Barriers
materials
how to make
barricades
(cars can pass)
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Always improve the defense
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Block all ways into the city
Go out and build obstacles in the streets! Start with any
bridges that were not destroyed. Block them with buses,
dump trucks, cars, concrete, wood, trash, anything. Then
block any spot in the city where there are tall buildings
on each side in already tight areas. All streets and alleys!
protection
class
basement
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Use reinforced concrete
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Make barriers that will stop everything
Use existing concrete barriers. Modern cities often have
existing concrete barriers for vehicle checkpoints or
infrastructure protection. These barriers offer ready-made
field fortifications. Steel hedgehogs are good too.
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Use Razor Wire
If you have razor wire, use it. Stack three together. Lay
between buildings. A triple strand razor wire can stop most
vehicles, even slow a tank.
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Dig Anti-tank ditches and trenches
If you have time and digging assets, dig tank ditches and
emplace a barrier around the densest parts of the city,
especially any entrances that can be spared without
impacting civilians needs. The goal is to add density to
already dense urban areas.
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Build “S” obstacles
If there is a street you still need to use, build a “S” or
serpentine pattern obstacle that still slows a vehicle
down. Think police check point, which you could set
up if you wanted to catch saboteurs before the
attackers reach your location. There should be no
roads that allow free, rapid driving down.
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Attack, Attack, Attack
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Build Strong Points Inside the City
Build strongpoints along key avenues into the city. Be sure
to have an escape route (like a hole into the next
building); key strong strongpoints, though, can take days
to clear. Do not use buildings with glass or wood, which
will shatter or burn.
A House Prepared as a Strong Point
1. Small hole in 8. Remove plaster or provide hard 17. Boards with nails
wall under eaves cover (Narrow passage left for defenders)
2. OP in attic 9. 2 Layers of sandbags on floor 18. Water
3. Opening in floor 10. Doors 19. Ammunition
4. Capsill 11. Ledge (То impose delay) 20. Packing case filled with stones
5. Wire netting 12. Sand 21. Door leading to emergency exit
6. Curtain or 13. Boards with nails on sili 22. Barbed wire obstacles thickend at corners
sacking 14. Boxes filled with stones 23. Bath filled with water
7. Strut 15. Groundsill 24. Rainwater pipe removed
16. Creeper removed 25. Intercommunication hole in partition wall
As temporary stairways,
use holes cut in floors with
jadder or knotted rope.
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Build Bunkers Inside and Outside Buildings
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Put Heavy Weapons Inside Buildings
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Put Caches (hidden supplies) Everywhere
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Attack From the Buildings (stay off streets)
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Shoot From Inside Buildings
There is no reason an urban defender should be visible
from the sky or street by the approaching attacker when in
their attack positions. Do not stick weapon barrels out of
windows. Stay back and shoot from inside the rooms to
reduce visibility.
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Plan Deliberately Where to Shoot
Again, your survival in order to fight is important, so think
hard about where you will shoot. Choose elevated
positions down long streets; shoot and run; employ
ambushes. Aim for the windows and doors of non-armor
vehicles or soldiers in the open. Snipers are one of a
soldier’s greatest fears.
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Build Engagement Areas (Kill Zones)
One of the most powerful defense tactics is the
establishment of engagement areas (kill zones...places the
enemy will die).
Kill Area
Obstacles
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Commercial Drones Can Be Helpful
Based on the electronic warfare capabilities/jamming
situation, commercial hobby drones can be used to spot
the incoming attackers and prevent the attacker from
surprising the defenders. They can also put fear into the
hearts of soldiers. If they have to look up, and not know
what is in the sky, they will not know if it is a killer drone or
not.
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Tanks
The attacker of a city in high intensity combat must
have tanks to go inside the city. They need tanks,
infantry, engineers, artillery and more. But they really
need tanks. The defender should prioritize destroying
tanks.
Tanks cannot elevate their guns to higher levels or
lower levels of buildings. When planning to attack one,
be where it cannot shoot.
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*Diagrams from US Army Army Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures 3-06.11
Combined Arms Operations in Urban Terrain
The Top of The Tank is Weak
The most vulnerable spot on any tank is the top where the
armor (steel) is thinnest. That is why they fear the Javelin
and other anti-tank armaments that are “top-attack”
weapons, which fly up into the sky and then come down
on top of the tank. If the defender has rocket-propelled
grenades that cannot penetrate thick armor or anti-tank
hand/rifle grenades, it is best to be on the upper floors of
buildings and drop them onto the tanks.
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A closed tank relies on optics that
could be blinded
Defenders may not be able to destroy a tank, but they can make
it not work or not work as well. One way to do this is to blind the
tank, impacting the vision of the soldiers inside. This is possible
by shooting at the vision block (places they look out – outlined in
red below), especially with large caliber weapons such as rocket-
propelled grenades (RPGs).
The upper left is the tank commander vision block. The upper
right is likely the loader independent viewer (depending on model
of tank), while the area on the tank front, under the the main gun
is the driver vision block. Shoot or throw things to break or cover
these ports.
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Other last resort blinding material
Any attempt to blind a tank must be done from a position of
safety, such as from high floors of a building where things
can dropped/thrown on top of it.
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Molotov Cocktails
Molotov cocktails can be effective weapons if used
properly. Throw them from protected sites, at the right
targets, and at select spots on vehicles.
Think about where you will stand to throw (then run).
Dropping from windows above vehicles most ideal.
Vehicles without weapons on top the most vulnerable, but
if it is armor, choose where to hit.
windshields, hatches,
tires, air intakes (grills)
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Photo from Twitter account Генеральний штаб ЗСУ @GeneralStaffUA
Molotovs & other close tank attacks
Molotov cocktails will likely have very little to no effect on a tank
that is closed. If the tank hatches are open, Molotovs may be
effective, may cause a tank to slow/stop to support an ambush
with anti-tank or other better tools.
Two Molotovs is better than one such as a volley from both sides
of a street from upper floors.
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The Ambush
The urban defender can employ ambushes in support of their
overall area or mobile defense. Preferably they should
maximize the urban terrain but can also be employed on
vulnerable routes such as roads between urban areas.
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Thinking Before the Ambush
After organized to do an ambush, the urban defenders should
think and plan for doing an ambush. A common tool for military
groups to think and plan an ambush is mission, enemy, time,
terrain, and troops available.
Time – The ambush group should think how much time it will
take to get to the ambush location, time to setup, how long they
will wait hidden once setup. Will they do at day and night?
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Image and content (edited) credit: US Army Training Circular 3-21.76 Ranger Handbook
Picking the Ambush Location and Formation (1)
The urban defender picks the best location for the ambush to maximize the use of
surprise and success.
Linear. In an ambush using a linear formation, the assault and support teams
deploy parallel to the enemy's route. This positions both elements on the long axis
of the kill zone and subjects the enemy to fire on their side. This formation can
be used in close terrain that restricts the enemy's ability to move against the
ambush team or in open terrain, provides a means of keeping the enemy in the kill
zone.
L-shaped. In an L-shaped ambush, the assault team forms the long leg parallel to
the enemy's direction of travel into the kill zone. The support teams forms the short
leg at one end and at a right angle to the assault team. This provides both flanking
(long leg) and enfilading (short leg) fires against the enemy. The L-shaped ambush
can be used at a sharp bend in a trail, road, or stream. It should not be used where
the short leg would have to cross a
straight road or trail.
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Image and content (edited) credit: US Army Training Circular 3-21.76 Ranger Handbook
Picking the Ambush Location and Formation (2)
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Image and content (edited) credit: US Army Training Circular 3-21.76 Ranger Handbook
Tips for doing an Ambush (1)
*An ambush is a very dangerous military operation and should be
executed by trained individuals, with a LOT of planning, and with extreme
caution
The ambush must surprise the enemy. If surprise is lost, the defenders
must get away.
The leaders check each fighter to make sure they know the plan for
setting up and doing the ambush.
The security teams on both side of the ambush always go in first. They
keep the others safe. They let the leaders know when the enemy is
coming. Make sure it is the enemy they planned and seal the ambush so
the enemy cannot escape.
The leaders look at the ambush site to make sure it is what was planned.
This can also be done with a drone to ensure the ambush group stays
hidden. Do not walk all the way up to the ambush site.
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Tips for doing an Ambush (2)
The ambush group should put protective obstacles, even mines if they
have them, to make sure the enemy does not come towards them once
the ambush starts.
Always start with the biggest mine, gun, weapon the ambush team has.
The leader can designate some of the defenders to run into the kill zone
to ensure the enemy is dead and take any weapons or equipment.
The ambush group must plan to get away very fast after doing the
ambush. There may be more enemy coming to help. Use a watch to time
how long. Do not stay there more than a few minutes.
When leaving, leave a security team in position. They should be the last to
leave to protect the group.
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Protecting Civilians
Defenders must help protect civilians. They have control
over where military forces and equipment are placed in
relation to the civilian population. The defenders often have
better information than the attacker about where civilian
persons are and are therefore better positioned to avoid
knowingly leaving them in harm’s way. The defender’s
tactical actions and overall strategy may contribute to the
danger facing civilians. To avoid that:
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Casualty and Fighter Care
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*Images from US Army Techniques Publication 4-02.13 Casualty Evacuation
Medical items for a combat/survival kit
The Urban defender uses the tools they have. US Army survival
doctrine recommends the following items/kit (author has added
some items) to provide a starting point for combat medicine
capabilities. Many may not be available, but some may.
• Pocket knife/scissors
• Water purification tablets (such as iodine tablets)
• 1 oz bottle of 2% tincture of iodine
• Small tube of crazy glue/super glue
• Small tube/bottle Betadine
• Emergency blanket
• Floss card (dental floss)
• Roll of Duct tape with peel-away backing
• Heavy duty canvas sewing needle
• Assorted dressings
• Assorted bandages
• Clean rags and blankets
• Combat Gauze
• Tourniquets, SOFT-T or combat application tourniquet (CAT),
Israeli bandage, or make-shift tourniquets.
• Small package of prescription medications
• Multi-purpose items that can be used for multiple tasks
ØBandanas, the larger the better (compress, sling, bandage,
and eye patch)
ØRigid devices (boards, sticks, poles) varying lengths
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*Adapted from US Army Techniques Publication 3-50.21 Survival
Basic Medical Lifesaving
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Stop Massive Bleeding (1)
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Stop Massive Bleeding (2)
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Airway must be/stay open
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Airway must be/stay open
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Respiration
Signs of respiratory distress can include:
• Difficulty breathing
• Struggling to get air in and out
• Breathing too weak to be effective (less than 6
breathes a minute)
• Rapid breathing ( more than 20 breaths per minute)
• The above could indicate and underlying chest injury.
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Circulation
• Rapid breathing
• Losing focus or having difficulty engaging
• Sweaty, cool, clammy skin
• Pale or gray skin
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Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a potentially dangerous drop in body
temperature, usually caused by prolonged exposure to
cold temperatures. It must be monitored, prevented, or
addressed due to massive blood loss not cold weather.
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Get Wounded to Safety and More Care
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Drink Water!
The urban defender must drink water. You can survive only
a few days without it. Hydration is key. Dry mouth is a sign
of dehydration, as are fatigue, headache, dry skin, not
sweating, sunken eyes, muscle and stomach cramps, no
urges to urinate over an extended period, and even
blackouts and seizures. Know the signs. There are ways to
make water safe to drink. Collect/melt snow/rain. Boil water
found. Add 2 eye drops of unscented household bleach to a
liter. Or 5 - 10 drops of iodine. If you are ever not sure,
purify the water. Drinking bad water can cause
vomiting/diarrhea and lead to severe dehydration and
death.
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Water purification tables
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Rain and Snow
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*US Army Training Circular 4-02.3 Field Hygiene Sanitation
Keep Hands, Food, Water Clean!
Disease and sickness can kill more urban defenders
than enemy bullets. In the past, disease and nonbattle
injuries have been the cause of up to 80 percent of
casualties for even the world’s best militaries. Now
militaries practice strict hygiene and sanitation
standards.
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Treatment of Enemy
Prisoners of War
The urban defender may find themselves capturing or
taking charge of enemy prisoners. Always treat prisoners
humanely. Follow the 5 S’s of handling prisoners:
They must keep hope that they can win and prevail. They
have the advantage in the urban terrain.
Soldiers fight for their nation, for freedom, for their families,
and for each other.
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